A controversial form of DNA testing is back in the limelight as law-enforcement officials praise its use in the investigation into an attack on a barista in Santa Cruz.
Elvis Garcia, 21, was arrested Friday on charges of sexual assault, robbery, and false imprisonment. He is being held on $1 million bail. Garcia was arrested after state forensics officials, working with the Santa Cruz Police Department, used familial DNA testing to identify him.
It is the first successful use of the controversial forensic method since the arrest of the Grim Sleeper serial killer in Los Angeles last year.
